Restoration Quarterly 45.3 (2003) 151-164.
Copyright © 2003 by
Restoration Quarterly, cited with permission.
A PORTRAIT OF THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON
LES MALONEY
Center for Christian Education
Introduction
Psalm 15 was most likely composed
independently for use in a specific cultic
setting as is argued by Hermann Gunkel:
Ps. 15 most clearly presupposes a specific
worship service. The priest communicates
an answer for the
laity to the question of their condition if they wish entry onto the
holy mountain.
However, the text does not offer a single word regarding which
festival would have included this kind of question and
answer.1
Gunkel challenges Mowinckel's
contention that Psalm 15 is connected with the
annual festival of the enthronement of Yahweh.2
While Gunkel disputes
Mowinckel's assertion that this psalm's usage can be
pin-pointed to a specific
event on the Israelite calendar, I question the
"presupposed worship service" that
causes this psalm to be read as a liturgical entrance
psalm. Gunkel himself says,
"The
response [to the question in v. 1] we think must come from the mouth of the
priest."3 Could the question posed in
verse 1 be a rhetorical question similar to
the one asked by the prophet in Micah 6:6–7? Other
rhetorical questions appear
elsewhere in the first book of the Psalter (Pss. 8:5; 11:3; 27:1; 39:7). Then, what
is the point?
It is possible that this psalm
circulated independently beyond its original
setting in life, being used in situations other
than the one for which it was initially
composed. It is also possible that this psalm
circulated with two or three similar
temple worship psalms such as Psalms 24, 48, 65, and
87. We simply do not
1 Gunkel,
An Introduction to the Psalms: The Genres of
the Religious Lyric of
(completed by Joachim Begrich,
trans. James D. Noglaski, Mercer Library of Biblical
Studies;
2 Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in
vols.;
3 Gunkel,
Introduction to the Psalms, 313. This
interpretation has been widely
accepted. See, for example, Artur
Weiser, The
Psalms: A Commentary (trans. Herbert
Harwell,
OTL;
Analyse Structurelle et
Interpretation: 1-50
(Recherches Nouvelle Serie
2;
Bellarmin, 1984), 139; Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary (trans. Hilton
C.
Oswald;
and Studying the Book of Praises (Peabody, Mass.:
Hendrickson, 1990), 89.
152 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
know as much as we would like to know about the history of this psalm.
However,
we can observe the setting of Psalm 15 within the first book of the
Psalter,
Psalms 1-41. Therefore, I begin this study with a translation of Psalm 15
followed by a brief reflection upon its present
setting— within the first book of
psalms.
Translation
1
A psalm of David:
0
Yahweh, who may sojourn in your tent?
Who
may dwell on your holy hill?
2
The person who walks honestly4 and who practices what is right
and who
speaks truth in his heart,
3
Does not slander with his tongue, does no evil to his friend
and does
not take up a reproach against his neighbor.
4
In his eyes a man scorned (by God) is despised
but he
honors those who fear Yahweh;
who swears
(an oath) that causes (him) harm5 but does not change.
5
He who does not give out his money at interest nor takes a bribe against the
innocent;
he who does
these things shall never be moved.
Psalm
Type
Since Gunkel's
watershed studies, Psalm 15 (along with Psalm 24) has
usually been classified as an entrance liturgy psalm. We do not know
if it was
originally composed as an entrance, liturgy, to be
used responsively (that is, the
worshipper asks the question in verse 1, and the
priest utters the answer in verses
2-5).
Perhaps such a request was the Sitz im Leben of the poem, or
perhaps the
psalm was originally a wisdom-type psalm in which the
psalmist asked a
rhetorical question and answered it himself. I
cannot rule out the possibility that
the psalmist asked the question only to have some
"inner voice" reveal the virtues
required to dwell in Yahweh's presence. Then,
perhaps this poem was later
adapted and used in the liturgy for the temple.
We just do not know for certain.
I prefer to read Psalm 15, however,
within its present, canonical context, as
a wisdom-influenced psalm;6 that is,
its is primarily didactic in purpose. Psalm
15
delineates the way of righteousness (the way of life), which stands in stark
contrast to the way of wickedness (destruction).
I am aware of the difficulties
4 Compare Amos 5:10: "They hate him
who reproves in the gate and they abhor him
who speaks truthfully/honestly" (MymiTA). Here in Amos 5:10-12 the focus is also upon
social justice.
5 Compare the translation
to his own hurt" in L. Koehler and
Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958), 902. The Septuagint (and
the Syriac) correct the
problem by translating the phrase "who swears to his neighbor and
does not set (it) aside."
6 Compare Mitchell Dahood, Psalms I:
1-50, AB (
1966):
83.
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE
RIGHTEOUS PERSON 153
involved in even defining what is and is not a
wisdom psalm,7 but I read Psalm
15
similar to the way I read the other wisdom (or better,
"wisdom-influenced")
psalms such as Pss. 34:12–14
[English vv]; 37:28–31, and 112:4–6, 9 (cf. Job
29:12–17;
31:5-21). In other words, my focus is upon what Whybray
calls
"modes of thought" characteristic of biblical wisdom
(Job, Proverbs, Qohelet)8
instead of upon a particular genre or literary
form called "wisdom." My interest
in wisdom-influenced psalms is here very narrow,
consisting of texts that list
specific virtues. Interestingly, Psalm 101 would
be another example of a psalm
that lists specific personal virtues or examples of
ethical actions. In fact,
depending on how one counts, there appear to be
ten such virtues also listed in
Psalm 101.
I cannot prove that such a reading
of Psalm 15 is the original usage, but I
think this approach will open the way to a better
understanding of the psalm as
it stands here between Psalms 14 and 16. Among the
psalms of the first book, this
psalm is hardly unique as a "non-lament."
In fact, several of the psalms in the first
book are not laments.9 What, then, is the
function of this psalm in its present
location? Are there any apparent connections between
Psalm 15 and the
preceding psalm or to the concepts in Psalms 1–14?
First of all, I will work
through the individual verses of the psalm,
paying attention to especially
significant psalmic terms
and concepts. Then I will ask whether the ten "social
justice" virtues (i.e., “love your neighbor
as yourself”) listed in Ps. 15:2–5
contain any allusions to the material found in
the Decalogue.
Analysis
of Psalm 15
Part One
As I read through Psalm 15 and worked on
the translation, certain terms and
concepts captured my attention. These are
deserving of closer study because of
the richness and depth they add to the
understanding and interpretation of the
psalm. First, in verse 1 the general consensus is
that lh,xo is parallel to
"holy hill"
and refers to the
refer to
7 See especially Norman Whybray, Reading the
Psalms as a Book (
(as
opposed to interpolated "wisdom elements"), he lists Pss 8; 14//53; 25; 34; 39; 49; 73;
90;
112; 127; 131, and 139 (60-73). Cf. Whybray,
"The Wisdom Psalms," in Wisdom
in
Ancient
H. G. M. Williams;
8 Ibid,
37. Cf. G. von Rad, Wisdom in Israel (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972), 47-48.
9 Pss. 8, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, and
37. Lament psalms
dominate not only Book I but Books I–III. See Bellinger, Psalms:
45, 75, and 81.
10 Kraus points out this
is not an "archaizing" expression but rather a reflection of the
tent sanctuary tradition found in 2 Sam 7:6 (Psalms
1-59, 228). He does, nevertheless,
154 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
question is asked is significant: not, "who
may enter your tent, 0 Yahweh?" but
"who may sojourn (rUg) in your tent?" In other psalms, the term xOB is typically
used to talk about entering or coming into the
presence of Yahweh (see Pss 5:8;
42:3; 96:8; 100:2, 4; 118:19—20). Why is a different term
used here? The usage
of the term rUg in the rest of the
Psalter sheds light on its connotation in 15:1. In
Ps
5:5 we find that "evil cannot sojourn" with God. Evil is an unwelcome
guest,
not a protected sojourner or stranger—protected
under the Torah. Kellermann,
in his comment on Ps 5:5, says "commentators
and translators assume that gur
has the general meaning, ‘to dwell, tarry.’
However, it is also possible to get a
deeper understanding . . . if the meaning of ger is kept in
mind when translating
gur."11 He goes on to point out
that in Ps 39:13 the psalmist "knows that he is
only a ger, ‘guest,’ . . . before Yahweh, like all his fathers.12
Other occurrences
of rUg are found in Pss 61:5 (in the context of refuge, shelter); 94:6 and
146:9
(a protected person, along with the widow and the orphan);
105:12, 23 (in the
context, Yahweh cares for the sojourners); and
120:5.
Second, the phrase qd,c,
lfepoU in verse 2 is interesting and important in any
canonical reading of this psalm. Three earlier
psalms (5:6; 6:9; 14:4) mention the
"workers of iniquity." This phrase is one of several
designations for the
psalmists' enemies. In stark contrast to the
"workers of iniquity" who "devour my
people as they devour bread" and "do not
call upon Yahweh" (14:4), here in
Psalm
15 we encounter a person who is a "worker (doer) of what is right"
(v. 2)
and who is known for his godly behavior towards his
fellow citizens, not his
abuse of them (vv. 3-5). He or she also does call
upon Yahweh (v. 1).
Third, at my first reading of Psalm
15, verse 4 seemed out of place. The
psalmist has been praising the righteous person
for the considerate and ethical
treatment of others (v. 3), and this theme is
again picked up in verses 4b—5. Yet
here in the first part of verse 4 we read "in
whose eyes a vile person is
despised."13 This virtue does not
sound very "ethical." The verbal form sxm
appears in eight other psalmic
texts. In five of these eight occurrences, God is the
subject of the verb—he is the one who
"scorns"14 or "rejects"15 certain
individuals
believe Psalm 15 is pre-exilic (227). This
echoes the opinion of Gunkel (Introduction to
the Psalms, 330).
11 See D. Kellermann, rUg, in TDOT 2:448.
12 Ibid.,
449. See also James L. Mays, Psalms.
Interpretation: A Bible Commentary
for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994), 84:
"To speak about
being in this sacred space, [Ps 15] uses language
from
the resident alien, the outsider who was permitted
to live along with those to whom tents
and territory belonged. Those who enter the
presence are like resident aliens, because they
have no inherent right to be there; the privilege
must be granted," Cf. Ps 119:19.
13 This translation comes
from Harold Fisch, ed., The Jerusalem Bible. Compare the
NRSV:
"in whose eyes the wicked are despised." Neither of these seem to get
at the
meaning of the term sxm as it is used in the
Psalter.
14 William L.
Testament:
Based Upon the Lexical Work of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1971), 180.
He suggests "scorned" for Ps 15:4 and Jer
6:30.
15 Francis Brown, S. R.
Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds., A Hebrew and English
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE
RIGHTEOUS PERSON 155
or groups of individuals (Pss
53:6; 58:8; 78:59, 67; and 89:39). Thus in Psalm 15
it is virtuous to despise those who have been
rejected by Yahweh. In the
canonical context of the psalm, those despised are
certainly the aforementioned
"workers of iniquity," the enemies of the psalmists, the
wicked whose way is not
known by Yahweh (Ps 1:6).
Both Kraus and Craigie
astutely point out that the parallel line in verse 4b
indicates that companionship or "daily
associations" is on the mind of the
psalmist, although Kraus alone makes the
connection with Psalm 1:1.16 Dahood
comments: "Just as no evil man can be a
guest in Yahweh's tent (vs. 1, Pss v 5,
xxiv 3), so the hospitality of the godly man does
not extend to the wicked."17
In verse 5 the idea of stability is
of special interest. In a holistic reading of
the Psalter, we have already come across the word FUm in Ps 10:6, where it is
found on the lips of the wicked who arrogantly says
in his heart: "I will not be
moved." This confidence, of course, is vain.
Yahweh the eternal king will break
the arm (strength) of the wicked person and will
"seek out his wickedness" until
there is none left to find (Ps 10:15). In later
psalms, the promise in Ps 15:5 is
echoed quite frequently in the psalmists' assertions
of stability in Yahweh (Pss
16:8;
17:5; 21:8; 30:7; 55:23; 62:3, 7; 66:9; 112:6; 121:3; cf. 46:6; 93:1; 96:10;
104:5;
125:1).
Part Two
Now I will examine the basic
structure of Psalm 15 and any possible
allusions to the material found in the Decalogue. Mowinckel observed that verses
2-5
list ten virtues or activities of the person who is allowed to sojourn in
Yahweh's tent on his holy hill. In a discussion of
Psalm 81:9-10, he says:
The influence of this ‘decalogical
tradition’ is also clearly seen in Ps. 15, where the
number of
commandments making the ‘laws of entrance’, the ‘conditions of
admission’ to
temple and salvation, are precisely ten; this is certainly no mere
accident. . . .
The existing toroth of entry belong
to the decalogical tradition. The
traditional
figure 10 in such groupings of the fundamental commandments of the
covenant . . . is
probably derived from the instruction of pilgrims: one commandment
for each finger.18
Lexicon of the Old
Testament
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907; repr. 1978), 549.
16 Kraus,
Psalms, 230; Peter Craigie, Psalms 1-50
(WBC; Waco: Word, 1983), 152.
17 Dahood,
Psalms 1: 1-50, 84.
18 Mowinckel,
Psalms in
Book of Psalms (London: Oliphants, 1972), 136; and Craigie,
Psalms 1-50. Craigie
admits there is some uncertainty here, but says the
number ten is "confirmed by the inner
grouping of positive and negative conditions.
Three positive conditions are followed by
three negative conditions, then two positive followed
by two negative—total ten" (150).
Contrast
Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 228.
156 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
In
addition to Mowinckel's theory about the pedagogical
significance of the
number ten, one should also consider the theological
significance of this number.
M.
Pope has called attention to the twofold sacred nature of the number ten.
First,
the number is used often to connote "completeness."
Second, "as a sacred
number, ten may derive some of its significance from
the fact that it is the sum
of the two other especially sacred numbers, three
and seven." Finally, the sanctity
of the Ten Commandments would have given this
number added significance.19
While Craigie
agrees that there are ten conditions listed in Psalm 15
reminiscent of the Decalogue's "ten words"
(Exod 20:1-17; Deut 5:1-21), he
dismisses the possibility of any "precise
inner correspondences between the
conditions and the Commandments.”20
He echoes Mowinckel
and emphasizes the
pedagogical function of the ten conditions or
virtues corresponding to the ten
fingers on the student's hand.
I suggest that the possibility of
correspondence between the Decalogue and
Psalm
15 is not entirely out of the question. Although "precise"
correspondences
are not apparent, it is possible to hear in Psalm
15 allusions to the Decalogue,
especially the last six of the ten words that deal
with the treatment of one's
"neighbor" (Exod 20:12-17). I
do not intend to argue that these allusions are
definitely what the author of Psalm 15 had in mind.
Nevertheless, it seems
reasonable to assume that the psalmist is alluding
to the ethical intent of the
Decalogue,
which would have been ancient and well-established in the
consciousness of the people even by
the time of a pre-exilic psalmist. What
follows is a re-reading of Psalm 15, this time
looking not at specific terms and
their usage in the Psalter, but rather at the general
concepts or ethical implications
of the ten conditions listed. Correspondences will
be highlighted between these
ethical precepts and the ethical implications of
the prohibitions in Exod
20:12-17.
I am arguing for "general correspondences" in thought and not that
each condition in Psalm 15 is a direct allusion to
ethical principles found in the
Decalogue.
Of course, on the other hand, the
claim by J. Blenkinsopp (and others) that
in its final form the Pentateuch is a product of
the Persian period21 could well
19 Marvin H. Pope,
"Number, Numbering, Numbers," in Interpreter's
Dictionary of
the Bible (ed. G. A. Buttrick;
finger counting to ten (
of the number itself, see Georges Ifrah, From One to
Zero: A Universal History of
Numbers (trans. Lowell Bair;
15:1
be viewed as another example of catechetical or school
questions? (see G. von Rad,
Wisdom, 18-19). Cf. G. von Rad, The Problem of
the Hexateuch and Other Essays
(London: SCM Press, 1984), 252.
20 Craigie, Psalms 1-50,
150.
21 Joseph Blenkinsopp, The Pentateuch: An Introduction to the First
Five Books of
the Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 239-41. He also discusses the Deuteronomistic
(mid-sixth century B.C.E.) influence
upon the final version of the Decalogue in Exodus.
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE
RIGHTEOUS PERSON 157
account for the correspondences between
wisdom-influenced psalms and the
Decalogue. Similarly, the wisdom literature is
typically dated in the post-exilic
period although its roots reach into early ancient
Israelite home and clan life.
Blenkinsopp goes on to challenge Mowinckel's theory that the Decalogue
is cultic in origin, based on the correspondences
between Psalm 15 and Exod
20:2-17.
He correctly points out the allusions to these ethical requirements as
early as the eighth-century prophets.22
Others have noted the close relationship
between those wisdom psalms or wisdom-influenced
psalms listed above and
torah (instruction/law). R. E. Murphy, for example,
calls attention not just to the
similarity between wisdom psalms and torah but, in the larger picture, to the
similarity between "wisdom" in general
and "law":
It is reasonable to think that what later
became "wisdom" and "law" was at first an
undifferentiated
mass of commands, prohibitions, and observations concerning life.
At this level there is a pre-urban and
pre-school stage of instruction where the family
and tribe are at
the center of society. Only later did instruction become differentiated
into the
scholastic and legal areas. Indeed, the Decalogue itself is a reflection of the
ethos of early
Israel.23
I do not wish to "reclassify"
Psalm 15 as a wisdom psalm, but merely to note
its didactic qualities. My first observation
concerns the general message of this
psalm and how it corresponds to the Decalogue. That
is, the close connection
between the worship of Yahweh (cult) and
treatment of other human beings
within the covenant (ethics).24 In the
Decalogue, the first four commandments
focus upon one's responsibility towards Yahweh while
the last six focus upon
one's responsibility to the community. Similarly,
Psalm 15 deftly combines the
idea of communion with Yahweh (v. 1) with social or
ethical stipulations (vv.
2-5).
This emphasis upon social justice is often attributed
to the eighth-century
prophets, yet their insistence that acceptance
before Yahweh presupposes social
righteousness goes back to the
teaching of the Torah.
The specific conditions in Psalm 15
recall the Decalogue: "Who speaks truth
in his heart,"25 "does not
slander with his tongue," and "does not take up a
20 (207-8).
22 Ibid.,
208-9.
23 Roland E. Murphy, The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical
Wisdom
Literature (2d ed.;
24 Similar to Murphy's
aforementioned connection of wisdom and law as having a
common background and development, A. Ceresko, "The Sage in the Psalms," in The
Sage in
product of the torah/wisdom teachers, and the
final form of this collection of psalms bears
the stamp of their influence and intent"
(217).
25 Dahood
(Psalms I, 83) translates `from his
heart," citing the article by Nahum
Sarna, "The Interchangeability of the
Prepositions Beth and Min in Biblical Hebrew," JBL
78
(1959): 310-16. Cf. Mark D. Futato, "The
Preposition ‘Beth’ in the Hebrew Psalter"
158 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
reproach against his neighbor" (vv. 2–3)
recalls the prohibition against "bearing
false witness against your neighbor" in Exod 20:16. In this case, the psalm is
more detailed in its description of the ethical
behavior required of the person who
stands in Yahweh's presence. What would "bearing
false witness against a
neighbor" look like? It begins in the heart
of person. The best way to keep from
transgressing the ninth commandment
is to be a person of integrity and honesty
who speaks truth from the heart. Again, this kind
of personal character is a stark
contrast to the person envisioned in Ps 12:3—the
person who speaks with a
"double heart" (see also Ps 28:3).
Other specific ways to break the
ninth commandment are spelled out. One
might engage in slandering one's neighbor, making
false and malicious state-
ments that could, at the very
least, damage the neighbor's reputation in the
community of God's people. If this slander took
place in a legal trial at the city
gate, for example, the consequences for the accused
could be even more severe.
Ps
15:5 appears to indicate that a judicial context is not an unlikely setting for
the
slander mentioned in verse 3. Likewise, if one
took up a reproach (assumedly,
a baseless one) against a neighbor, it would have
damaging results. In these three
conditions from Psalm 15 and the prohibition in
Exodus 20, the human tongue
is used as a powerful weapon against one's fellow
participant in the covenant
with Yahweh, against a person who shares the history
of having been "brought
out of the
serious if one recalls the Hebrew concept of the
innate power contained within
the spoken word: That is, these accusations and
deceitful words contain the power
to cause harm. They are not empty words but,
potentially damaging deeds.26
A person who uses speech in such a
way is not acting in concert with
Yahweh's holiness and righteousness. Instead, that person is
behaving like the
enemies of the psalmists (at least, as described
in Book I) who speak deceitfully
(see Pss 3:3; 4:3; 5:7, 10; 7:4;27
10:7; 12:3; 13:5; 22:7–9; 27:13; 35:11, 20–21;
36:4;
and 41:6–7). In fact, a perusal of these passages in their respective literary
contexts reveals that a dominant hallmark of the
evil-doing enemies is their
threatening evil speech against the godly, ethical
psalmists.28 They also foolishly
speak against Yahweh himself (2:2-3; 10:3–4; 11, 13;
12:4–5; 14:1).
WTJ 41 (Fall 1978): 68-81. Craigie (Psalms 1-50)
correctly points to the primary focus
as the "inner truth of the heart (viz., the
mind), which in turn results in the outward
speaking of truth" (149).
26 On the pervasive
belief in the "magical power of the [spoken] word" see G. von
Rad, Old
Testament Theology (San Francisco: Harper, 1962), 1:143. See also J.
Bergman,
H.
Lutzmann, and W. H. Schmidt, rbDi, in TDOT,
3:85-87, 92-93, 115-16, and Siegfried
Wagner,rmxi, in TDOT,
1:332, 336.
27 Implied here is a
setting in which the psalmist finds himself falsely accused (cf. v.
1:
“concerning the words of
28 Hans-Joachim Kraus, Theology of the Psalms (trans. Keith Crim;
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE
RIGHTEOUS PERSON 159
In Ps 15:3, "does no evil to
his friend" (in the context of ten conditions),
recalls the ethical provisions within the
Decalogue. Again, the correspondence
is general, allusive—not precise. Unlike the
previous example, in this case the
psalmic virtue is abstract, and
the commandments in Exod 20:13ff. are
concrete.
Certainly,
doing evil to one's friend casts a broad net that could include
numberless offenses against others. Exodus 20 lists
three concrete examples of
"evil" against others murder,
adultery, and stealing.29
In Ps 15:4b, we actually have one of only
two30 semantic connections to the
Decalogue—the term dbk. Here the object of
honor is "those that fear Yahweh"
while in Exodus 20 it is one's parents (Exod 20:12). In both texts the righteous
person is known for his or her attitude and behavior
towards others. This
commandment in Exodus 20 is interesting in another
way-it carries a
"promise."31 It says "honor your father
and your mother so that your days may be
long upon the land that Yahweh your God is giving
you" (Exod 20:12). One may
also read Psalm 15:5 as a promise: "the one who
does these things [including
honoring those who fear Yahweh] will never be
moved." While using different
terminology, both of these promises concern
stability and security ("peace,"
"well-being") for the person who is obedient to Yahweh's
ethical code. Kraus
comments:
The participant in worship on
shows his hqdc in the hidden deals and business transactions which are not
acces-
sible
to the intervention of any judicial agent. . . . Every visitor of
give a
declaration of loyalty: Do you also conduct your life in accordance with the
covenant of
Yahweh? Is Yahweh the Lord of your everyday life?32
Ethical
worshippers are those who will not be moved but who will be sustained
and supported by Yahweh, just as they have
supported the neighbor.
Canonical Setting
Now it is appropriate to return to
the question of the form and function of
Psalm
15 within its setting in Book I of the Psalter. As mentioned earlier, some
commentators have conceded that this
psalm may be classified as a wisdom
psalm due to the emphasis on Torah stipulations,
especially ethical concerns.33
29 Perhaps even
"coveting" (Exod 20:17) should be included
in a list of evil acts
perpetrated against one's neighbor. See von Rad, Theology,
1:191 n. 9: "Even with
coveting what is in question is an act, illegal
machinations, as J. Herrmann has shown in
Festschrift fur E. Sellin,
30 See also Ps 15:3 and Exod 20:16, 17 (tDN-12).
31 See Paul's description
of the commandment to honor one's parents in Eph 6:2,
"ti<ma to>n pate<ra sou kai>
th>n mhte<ra, h!tij e]sti>n
e]ntolh> prw<th e]n
e]paggeli<a."
32 Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 230-31.
33 Anderson (Psalms) notices this emphasis in Psalm
15 and highlights a similar
theme in prophetic passages such as Jer 7:1 ff.: Ezek 18:5—9; Mic
6:6ff. and Isa 33:14ff.
160 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
Psalm
15 might be classified as a wisdom psalm in the same sense as Psalm 1,
which describes the moral attributes of the
righteous. Craigie says: "Thus it is
possible that Ps 15 is a wisdom poem, based
perhaps upon the form of the
entrance liturgy; its didactic role would have
been in the instruction of young
people concerning the moral implications of
participating in worship."34 Once
again, the major interest of this paper is not to
argue for a form critical "re-
classification" of Psalm 15. This
psalm certainly can (and should) be read as an
entrance liturgy psalm. This psalm could just as
easily be read simply in the
context of wisdom ethics. My concern is to
highlight the didactic (or
catechetical?) use
of Psalm 15 as it stands here in the final form of Book I of the
Psalter, immediately after Psalm 14. My interest is to call
attention to
correspondences between the ethical
attributes of the righteous person in Psalm
15
and the ethical requirements listed in the Decalogue. In commenting on the
other entrance liturgy psalm, Ps. 24, McCann
correctly says:
The identification of Psalm 24 as an
"entrance liturgy" and the attempt to identify its
liturgical
setting do not deal adequately with the content and theology of the psalm.
. . . When our attention is directed beyond
questions of form and function to matters
of content and
theology, we notice that Psalm 24 addresses the same fundamental
issues that we
have encountered in Psalms 1-2, 8, 19, 95-96, 100.35
What connections exist between Psalm
15 and Psalm 14 or the other
preceding psalms of Book I? The possibility of
some kind of interconnectedness
is suggested by J. Brennan's study of Psalms 1-8.36
First; the concluding promise
of Psalm 15 represents an actual semantic link
between this psalm and other
psalms in Book I. Psalm 10:6, where the wicked person
thinks he will never be
moved nor find himself in troubled times, evidences
this link. This arrogant,
wicked person engages in many behaviors that are
direct opposites of the
behaviors of the righteous person pictured in Ps
15:2-5. He pursues the ynifA and
murders the yqinA (10:2, 8) in contrast
to the righteous person who does no evil to
his friend and does not take a bribe against the yqinA (15:3, 5). The mouth of the
wicked is full of deceitful and fraudulent speech
(10:7; cf. 5:7) while the
righteous person in Psalm 15 walks honestly and
speaks truthfully (v. 2). He or
He
wisely cautions, however, against assuming interdependence (much less,
dependence
upon the part of the writer of Ps. 15 [136]). He
finally says: "Both Ps. 15 and the prophets
may belong to the same stream of Yahwism which was firmly rooted in the Covenant
traditions" (137). Cf. Gunkel,
Introduction, 289. Cf. W. H. Bellinger Jr., Psalmody
and
Prophecy (Sheffield: JSOT Press,
1984).
34 Craigie, Psalms 1-50,
150.
35 J. C. McCann, A Theological Introduction to the Book of
Psalms: The Psalms as
Torah (Nashville: Abingdon,
1993), 72—73.
36
Joseph P. Brennan. "Psalms 1—8: Some Hidden Harmonies." BTB 10 (1980):
25—29. Cf. Cf. J. L. Mays, "The Question of
Context in Psalm Interpretation," in The
Shape and Shaping of the
Psalter (ed.
J. Clinton McCann; Sheffield,
Press,
1993), 19-20.
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE RIGHTEOUS
PERSON 161
she also refuses to take a bribe--another specific,
concrete act of honesty and
integrity. Ironically, this wicked person says:
"I shall not be moved." But Yahweh
(the psalmist hopes) will say otherwise (10:12--14). In Ps
15:5, Yahweh says: "the
person who does these things shall not be moved."
Next, in Psalm 14 is a vivid
description of the wicked person in stark contrast
to the righteous person in Psalm
15,
as I noted earlier in the contrast between qd,c, lfePo (15:2) and Nv,xA ylefEPo37
(14:4).
Again, one may note the similar contrast between 14:2 and 15:1. In 14:2
Yahweh
looks down from heaven to see if anyone has insight--that is, does
anyone "seek God." Evidently, no one is
found—"not one" (v. 3b). In the story
of Noah, no one was seeking Yahweh. The thoughts
of every person were
"continually evil." But then Noah found favor in the
eyes of Yahweh (Gen.
6:5-8).
In Psalm 14 is an equally dismal picture. In Psalm 15, however, one
righteous person is found. One person is left who
seeks Yahweh, asking him:
Who
may sojourn in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? F. Delitzsch
noted this connection between these two psalms in his
comments on Psalm 15:
"The
previous psalm distinguished from the mass of universal corruption a qydc
rOd, and concluded with the
expression of longing for the salvation out of
Ps.
xv answers the question: who belongs to that qydc
rOd, and for whom is the
future salvation meant?"38
In 14:7, the psalmist looks forward to
the return of
of rejoicing. The deliverance will come out of
expression of hope is part of the eschatological39
material that appears through-
out the Psalter and which, according to Gunkel, comes from the influence of
captivity of his people" or "when Yahweh
brings back the fortunes of his
people."40 In either case, Psalm 15 is
placed immediately after Psalm 14 by the
37 For an excellent
discussion and challenge of S. Mowinckel's contention
that the
Nv,xA ylefEPo are magicians casting
"spells" (which cause illnesses) upon the righteous
psalmists, see Gunkel, Introduction, 143-47.
38
Franz Delitzsch. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms (3 vols.;
rev. ed., trans.
David
Eaton;
39 For Gunkel, "eschatological" refers to God's ultimate
victory at the end of time.
40 For such a translation
of tUbw;, see Fisch,
Bible: Reader 's Edition (Garden City: Doubleday, 1968). According to
Liddell and Scott,
Greek-English Lexicon, abridged edition
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1987), 23, this term means
"captivity; a body of captives." See the detailed study
by William L. Holladay, The Root
SUBH in the Old
Testament
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958), 112: ". . . most of
the
[occurrences] can (contextually speaking) be either
['captivity' or ‘restoration’]: since the
meanings are after all not too far apart, and one
can posit a semantic development from
either to the other." Similarly,
Charles
A. Briggs and Emilie G. Briggs, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the
Book of Psalms (2 vols.;
occurrences of this phrase] we might render, restore
captivity, bring back captives; but
162 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
editor(s) of Book I in order to bolster the hope
of future restoration in 14:7,
whether that hope is for a return from exile or
a return of better times for the
people of Yahweh. When Yahweh "restores" his
people, will it be possible to
"sojourn" in his tent on his holy hill? Yes indeed!
Moreover, Psalm 15 provides
a memorable picture of what kind of person will
be able to enjoy such wonderful
communion with Yahweh.
In view of the other connections
between Psalms 14 and 15, the possibility
that Psalm 15 functions in the way that I have
described deserves consideration.
Gunkel pointed out the need for considering the contexts
of the various psalms,
although he did not have in mind "canonical
contexts." He says, "There is an
unbreakable principle of scholarship that nothing
can be understood outside of
its context. Accordingly, the particular task of
psalm studies should be to
rediscover the relationships between the individual
songs."41 Later, he seems to
think there is evidence that certain psalms are
juxtaposed in order to present
theological viewpoints although he can detect no
overarching, unifying principle
for the canonical sequence of the psalms.42
I cannot detect an overall unifying
theme for the entire Psalter. I find Mays's
suggestion interesting but wonder if it is not too
broad, too general to serve as a
unifying theme for the entire collection. That
is, the statement "Yahweh reigns"
or "Yahweh is sovereign" seems, on one
level, not much different from the
statement "Yahweh is God," obviously a
concept well entrenched in the Israelite
psyche by the time of the psalmists. In other words,
the statement "Yahweh is
God"
is equal in meaning to the statement "Yahweh reigns (as sovereign
king)"
because "God" equals "King"
in the ancient Near Eastern milieu. That is, they
appear to be in the same "semantic field."43
I do indeed recognize, however, the
some of them must have the more general mng. restore prosperity."
Compare
Psalms, 864: "restore
one's fortune or prosperity."
41 Gunkel,
Introduction, 3.
42 Ibid.,
335. Other scholars have sought to find a unifying principle for the entire
Psalter. Recent attempts include Gerald Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter
(SBLDS
76, ed. J. J. M. Roberts; Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1985), who posits
various
organizing principles for the various groups of
psalms, but not an overarching, unifying
principle; James Mays, The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms
(Louisville,
Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), especially 12-22, in which he
argues for the phrase Yhwh malak as the center or unifying principle
of the entire Psalter.
The
subsequent chapters trace this motif throughout the five books of collection.
See also
David
Mitchell, The Message of the Psalter: An Eschatological Programme in the Book
of Psalms (JSOTSup 252. ed. David Clines
and Philip Davies;
Sheffield
Academic Press, 1997), who sees an eschatological message as the unifying
principle, and Jerome Creach,
Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the
Hebrew Psalter
(JSOTSup 217, ed. David Clines and Philip Davies;
Academic Press, 1996).
43 See Frank M. Cross, *,
in TDOT, 1:245-46, 249-50, 258-59; Von Rad,
Theology, 23-24, and John
Bright, The History of
MALONEY/PORTRAIT OF THE
RIGHTEOUS PERSON 163
prevalence of the concept of Yahweh's kingship in
the Psalter. I also appreciate
Mays's
admission that this is but one theme in a "plurality of thought about God
in the psalms."44
Conclusion
I began this study of questioning
the usefulness of postulating a recon-
structed cultic setting in order
to help understand Psalm 15. If this poem is read
simply as a liturgical entrance psalm, we miss
insights gleaned from viewing it
as an important part of the theological message of
the first book of the Psalter.
Furthermore,
we tend to minimize its semantic and conceptual links to the
previous fourteen psalms in the canonical text.
For example, one sees the irony
of the wicked person in Ps 10:6 who boasts,
"I will not be moved" versus the
righteous person in Ps 15:5, upon whose behalf
Yahweh boasts, "He shall not be
moved." Such an intra-textual reading, including
the connections of themes
between Psalms 14 and 15, enriches my reading,
my understanding, and my
appreciation for the beauty of Psalm
15. The relationship of Psalms 15 and 16
and to the rest of the psalms in Book I is another
study.
I applaud Mays for the following
insights and their contribution to reading
the Psalter as a book:
In the standard commentaries and
introductions, psalms are taken up individually
and identified as
an instance of a genre, and/or as agenda for ritual performance or
as artefacts of
genre and its
proposed history. an inferred festival or ritual
occasion. or the ancient
Near Eastern history of religion. . . .
When the Psalms are examined from [a con-
textual]
perspective, questions and possibilities do appear which are not visible when
the classic
genres and the pre-exilic cult are used as the primary and organizing
context.45
I
have suggested that we read Psalm 15 as a wisdom-influenced psalm, in the
broad sense, and not just as an entrance liturgy
psalm. This reading highlights the
literary setting of Psalm 15 immediately
following Psalm 14 as well as conceptual
and linguistic links to earlier psalms in Book I.
Like the wisdom (Torah) psalm
that begins Book I, Psalm 15 considers the question
of what kind of person may
"sojourn" with Yahweh, what kind of person may be found
in the "assembly of
the, righteous." Both of the psalms refer to
Torah, Psalm 1 explicitly and Psalm
15 implicitly by
means of allusions to the Decalogue traditions. As L. Perdue
successfully argued long ago, the
sages of
interested in worship and not just ethics.46
It is helpful to read Psalm 15 in its
1981), 151-52, 155-56, 158, 1171.
44
Mays, Lord Reigns, 22.
45
Mays, "Question of Context," in Shape
and Shaping, 14, 19.
46 Leo G. Perdue, Wisdom and Cult: A Critical Analysis of the Views
of Cult in the
Wisdom Literatures of
Scholars Press, 1977), 1-11, 17, 140-226,
passim.
164 RESTORATION
QUARTERLY
reconstructed cultic origin as an
entrance liturgy psalm. However, it is also
helpful (especially in understanding the
theological content of this psalm) to read
Psalm
15 as a didactic poem—a poem that echoes the decalogical
ethical
traditions that were so important to those
returning from exile.
Finally, a comment
or two about the contemporary message of Psalm 15.
Someone
has observed that scholars have too often focused so much attention
upon the cultic settings and original functions of
the psalms that they missed the
power and the beauty of its message. Psalm 15 reminds
the people of God of all
time periods that Yahweh's definition of
"righteous living" is largely defined by
ethical concerns. That is, to love Yahweh with
all one's heart and to fear him
demands is love our neighbors and treat them asYahweh demands! This is taught
not only by the great classical prophets of
Decalogue and in the Book of the Covenant.
The modern community of those who
would seek to sojourn in Yahweh's
holy presence, to live in fellowship with him must
remember this and proclaim
it' at all times. Unfortunately, there is too
often a "gap" (if not in knowledge, at
least in practice) between the worship of God and the
fear of God and practical,
everyday godly treatment of one's neighbor! Psalm
15 reminds us that we "shall
not be moved" only if we I treat fellow human
beings in an honest and godly way.
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